Tag Archives: Uncategorized

Kuiper Belt Objects…What Are They?

Posted on April 9, 2018 by terranojm

Kuiper Belt Objects are unique in that they have different compositions than most asteroids and different orbits than most comets. This has led astronomers to contemplate the identity of Kuiper Belt Objects. Surprisingly, the answer isn’t so clear. Asteroids are mostly composed of rock while comets are mostly composed of rock and ice. Most Kuiper … Continue reading “Kuiper Belt Objects…What Are They?” Continue reading →

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The Kuiper Belt Mystery: will we have nine planets again?

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Jeanie Zeng

    It’s the planet furthest from the sun. No, it’s not Neptune. It’s Planet Nine. Cold, icy, and shrouded in darkness, Planet Nine is potentially an undiscovered planet lurking in the outer regions of our solar system just beyond the Kuiper Belt. It’s estimated to be 10 times the mass of Earth and reside at … Continue reading The Kuiper Belt Mystery: will we have nine planets again? → Continue reading →

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Planet X: The Real 9th Planet?

Posted on April 7, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

With Pluto’s demotion to a “dwarf planet,” the solar system was left with 8 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It now seems that the number 8 may not survive for long, as researchers are now searching for a 9th planet that they think exists in the far-away outer solar system. […] Continue reading →

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Pluto: the Eccentric “Planet”

Posted on April 7, 2018 by aquarianastronomy

Most of us have heard of Pluto’s downgrade from the category of planet to “dwarf planet,” but it is less well-known why it was demoted. One of the main reasons had nothing to do with size and everything to do with Pluto’s strange orbit. Instead of orbiting with the sun roughly at the center of […] Continue reading →

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~Gravitational Waves~

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Caroline Henning

Gravitational waves!! Only recently detected even indirectly, they offer some evidence to support Einstein’s theory of relativity from the early twentieth century. The theory states that dense, heavy objects (like Earth, for example) distort space-time in the same way a marble would bend a normally flat stretch of fabric. When two extremely dense objects (such … Continue reading ~Gravitational Waves~ → Continue reading →

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Planet no. 9

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Caroline Henning

Pluto–a well loved member of our solar system with a short-lived reputation as a planet. Discovered in 1930, it was classified as the ninth planet in our solar system until its demotion to a dwarf planet in 2006. I remember that fateful day in elementary school science class when we got the news: Pluto was … Continue reading Planet no. 9 → Continue reading →

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Are We Alone?

Posted on April 3, 2018 by therestisstardust

  I’ll actually take the liberty of answering that. Of course not! How, in our exponentially infinite and ever expanding universe, could it have been us that just happened to luck out on the single life supporting planet? There is certainly other life out there, it’s just a matter of where and what type. Operating […] Continue reading →

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Metal. Fire. Splash.

Posted on April 2, 2018 by kyleweil

    Beijing, we have a problem. At least that’s what I imagined Tiangong 1 broadcasted back to China as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and careened into the central South Pacific Ocean. Officials had no idea where exactly the station would re-enter and end up crashing, making the South Pacific a welcome relief for many. […] Continue reading →

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Pluto Reclassified as Planet

Posted on April 2, 2018 by kyleweil

    History was made on Sunday, April 1, 2018, as the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided to reclassify Pluto as a planet. Pluto, discovered in 1930 as the ninth planet of the solar system, is a tiny world smaller than Earth’s moon. Pluto was stripped of its planetary status in 2006 and demoted […] Continue reading →

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The Death of the Sun

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Caroline Henning

Unfortunately, our Solar System will not exist forever–our Sun’s lifespan is indeed finite. Sunlike stars stay on the main sequence for approximately 10 billions years. In other words, this is about how long the Sun will shine. The Sun is about 4.6 billion years old, so we may expect about 5.4 billion more years of … Continue reading The Death of the Sun → Continue reading →

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